Black American Economic Power
Dockworkers in Apalachicola, February 1899
Courtesy of the State Archives of Florida
After Emancipation, some Black citizens with connections to influential White citizens were able to advance quickly, although most worked as sharecroppers, which meant that they rented land to farm in exchange for a portion of the crop given to the landowner. Many landowners built their own stores and required sharecroppers to charge the supplies they needed against next year’s crop. With inflated prices and dishonest bookkeeping, this exploitative system kept people in debt to the plantation owner, leaving them little choice except to sign another year’s contract.
The Black population in North Florida expanded after the Civil War due to opportunities in the lumber, agriculture, and shipping industries. Black Floridians made up more than half of timber workers, and many worked as oystermen and dockworkers. Freedman’s Bank customers listed their occupations as laborers, domestic servants, waiters, and other working-class jobs. Black Americans sometimes exercised their economic power by forming unions, going on strike, demanding higher wages, and more time off. Dockworkers organized in Fernandina, Jacksonville, and Pensacola. During the Apalachicola General Strike of 1890, hundreds of sawmill workers walked off the job and shut down the port.
Men shucking oysters in Apalachicola, January 1909
Courtesy of the State Archives of Florida
The Freedman’s Bank failed in 1874 due to rapid expansion, poor management, and the financial panic of 1873. Patrons received approximately 62 percent of their money back. This failure damaged the trust of Black Americans in the federal government and financial institutions.
